Vibrator reed for musical instruments



Feb. 4, 1941. cAlRE ETAL 2,230,933

VIBRATOR REED FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Filed Sept. 15, 1939 22 38 2022 7+34 38 ,uu fllfls r-f +6 Q6 23 fi a s 18 24 #26 W% Z INVENTORS m 1 1, 26Raymond Cau'e Aarondl'rz'edman Patented Feb. 4, 1941 1 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE VIBBATOI. REID roa gmsrcan Raymond Cairo, Yadon, 2a., andAaron 1. Filed- Friedman man, New York, N. I; said toaaidcaire' asllgnorApplication September 1:, mo, Serial No. 294,622

' cam. (01. 84-383) musical wind instruments, such as the bassoon.

clarinet, oboe and saxophone.

Reeds for these instruments are made, at the present time, from certainspecies of large waterloving grasses, commonly known as cane. The canefrom which such reeds are made is specially grown in reed plantations inlimited parts of the world where the soil and climatic conditions arefound to be most satisfactory. These canes, be-

ing natural growths, are subject to all the whims of nature, and, as aresult, are of varying characteristics. Reeds made from these canes areconsequently different, and this is true even between reeds made fromthe same cane stalk. These cane growths are known to have differentsexes. The female cane, which is considered the weaker, has only longparallel fibers. The male cane, which is the stronger of the two, andtherefore considered the better grade for making reeds has, in additionto its long parallel fibers, crossflbers in its grain. Reeds cut fromthe same stalk vary in characteristics and quality. Some reeds have verycoarse grain and others have a very fine grain. Reeds cut from the sunnyside of the stalk have been found to be superior to reeds cut from theshady side of the stalk. These canes, being vegetable growths, aresubject to many variations due to changes in climatic conditions, soilconditions, ripening conditions, aging conditions, etc. until every reedproduced is different in some respects from every other reed producedwhether made from the same stalk or from different stalks.v As aconsequence, performers have tremendous difficulties in finding a reedsuitable for their instruments and embouchure.

Reeds made from cane must be conditioned? each time before they are tobe used and before they are satisfactory for playing purposes. They mustabsorb certain amounts of moisture before they will function properly inan instrument, and the amount of moisture varies depending upon thecharacteristics of the cane. Reeds made of cane that is too fine a grainwill not absorb enough moisture, and reeds made of cane having toocourse a grain will absorb too much moisture. It is unquestionablydii'ilcult, under such circumstances, to find a reed of good quality andexactly the right strength or degree of flexibility for an individualmouthpiece or performer. Performers, having an extensive knowledge ofreeds; reed patterns and great skill in scraping, secure better resultsworking over their new cane reeds to suit, their own individualrequirements. Few performers are thus blessed, however. and, with themajorityof them, it is a case of buying a large number of reeds andselecting the few best for their requirements.

It is estimated in the musical profession that only, about twenty-fivepercent of the cane reeds purchasedarefound suitable or satisfactory tothe individual performer, and, even in this limited number of reeds, theperformer must change his embouchure, or readapt his technique slightlyfor each new reed used. These cane reeds, even when found eminentlysatisfactory, have an extremely short life, generally not exceeding twoor three weeks. They become water-logged from saliva; the cellularstructure of the cane reed breaks down, either from action of themoisture and the acids carried ,thereinto by saliva, or from the growthof micro-organisms carried by the saliva into the interstices of thecane reed; the thin flexible edge becomes split either throughcontacting some foreign object, such as the clothing of the performer,the tongue, orthe inability of such edge to withstand the constantvibratory action when in use. Also, through wear the thin flexible tipbecomes feathery", and the uneven feathery edge frequently sets-upoff-tune vibrations along with the main vibration of the reed per se.Cane reeds frequently fail without warning while the performer isplaying a piece, and for that reason constitute a constant source ofannoyance or fear to the performer, which detracts from hisplayingability. All of these disadvantages are factors that make the cane reeda questionable and expensive proposition for the performer, and placeshim at a serious disadvantage with his instrument. He is constantlyrequired to change his embouchure or readapt his technique with each newreed used.

In order to overcome these difllculties which are inherent with the canereed, numerous attempts have been made to provide a reed havingpermanent features and characteristics. Metallic reeds have beenattempted, but it was found that metal has no satisfactory feel" ascompared to the cane reed. The metal reed not only irritated the tongueof the performer, but robbed his lips and tongue of their body heatthrough its ability to rapidly absorb heat as the result of itsexcellent thermal conductivity. Furthermore, metal lic reeds give verypoor tonal qualities, 9. very limited range of notes, poor timbre,-etc.As a consequence, the metallic reed has never been accepted by themusical profession for wind instruments of the class above described.

Other attempts have been made to correct the deficiencies of the canereeds, such as for example, coating the cane reed with a water-resistingcovering, impregnating the reed with waterresisting. materials. All ofthese 'methods have not proven' satisfactory because they materiallyincrease the weight of the reed and resulted in unsatisfactory tonalqualities. Such reeds also made playing of the instruments extremelydimcult, and a performer must literally "blow his lungs out" to produceany tones with such reeds. They could not be used for continuous playingover long periods of time as with dance bands and symphonic concerts.For the above reasons such reeds have never been accepted by the musicalprofession for the instruments herein described.

With knowledge of the above developments and dimculties in mind, itwould seem but a logical step in the development of a vibrator reed tomake it of a plastic material, but we have discovered that plasticsgenerally are wholly unsuited for the making of reeds. Some plastics aretoo soft, other plastics are too hard and brittle to withstand thevibrations necessary to produce musical tones. Some are too heavy inweight to permit satisfactory playing, and others are too stiff andtherefore do not vibrate quickly enough to be used in playing certaintypes of music. Other plastics are incapable of producing satisfactorytones over a musical scale or range. Some plastics are toxic and produceunsatisfactory tastes in the mouth of the performer. Most plastics aremade with a so-called plasticizer, such as for example, camphor,phthalates, etc., which not only produce a bad taste in the mouth of theperformer, but are also toxic to the body. Furthermore, mostplasticizers are volatile, and tend to vaporize over periods of time,causing shrinkage in some instances and producing brittleness in othersthat prevent their adoption and use for the making of music reeds of thevibrator type. After making a very diligent and thorough search of theart of making vibrator reeds, we know of no instance where plastic reedshave been found suitable for musical instruments of the types describedabove.

All of the disadvantages found in the cane and other types of vibratoryreeds mentioned above have been obviated by the present invention, and,as a result of our discoveries, we have produced a -synthetic plasticreed which is superior in all respects to the cane reeds. In all of thedesirable characteristics which our plastic reed has in common with thecane reed, it is recognized by outstanding performers in professionalmusical circles to be far superior, and it has also been found that ourplastic reed has many desirable attributes that cane reed or other typesof prior art reeds have never had.

An object of the present invention is to provide a reed of syntheticplastic material for wind instruments which is of a simple andinexpensive construction, and which is permanent and durable whencompared with cane reeds.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a reed of syntheticplastic material which is light in weight, durable in construction, andcapable of exact duplication both chemically and physically at alltimes.

A further object of the invention is to provide a reed of syntheticplastic material of such shape and construction that its tonal qualitiesand aasaoss rangeexceedthoseobtainablewithacanereed.

Another object of the invention is to provide a reed of syntheticplastic material of such construction that it is capable of producingfine tonal results without requiring excessive lip pres- 5 sure on thepart of the performer, and without requiring a diflicult embouchure.

A further obiect of the invention is the provision of a permanent anddurable reed of synthetic plastic material that is capable of pro- 1ducing full, clear tones of great brililancy, fine timbre, good carryingpower, accurate intonation and capable of speedy execution of tonalchanges due to its smooth surface andiiezihiiity.

Anotherobject of the invention is to provide a reed of synthetic plasticmaterial which is always ready for use and which will not requireconditioning to make it ready for playing.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a syntheticplastic reed of such constructicn as topermit a smooth even tip ofminute thickness, which will act as a valve with a rolling motion,thereby preventing chatter and the production of slappy" or whacky"tones u when being used.

Another object of the invention is to provide a reed of syntheticplastic material that is not affected by normal temperature changes,thereby requiring correction either by a change in embouchure orreadaption of technique on the part of the performer to off-set suchtemperature changes as in the case of cane reeds.

A further object of the invention is to provide a reed of syntheticplastic material that is capabio of being ground or machined to a.desirable shape and provide a very smooth surface having no featheryedges capable of setting up oi!- tune vibrations along with the mainvibration.

Another object of the invention is to provide a reed of syntheticplastic material that will not abmrb moisture or heat from the body ofthe performer; which will not be affected by the acids and alkalies inthe saliva; and which will be highly sanitary and not provide a breedingplace for micro-organisms normally found in human saliva.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a reed of syntheticplastic material of a character such that it can be readily altered tosuit the individual characteristics or idiosyncrasies of the performer,if desired.

A further object of the invention is to provide a reed that will not"fatigue" and lose its P 01 8. characteristics over long periods oftime, and

which will not give out without warning in the middle of of a program.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a durable, syntheticplastic reed of a construction that is more sensitive than the presentcane reed, and therefore capable of producing more delicate nuances oftone while maintaining better quality in the tones produced.

Various other and further objects and advantages of the invention, whichresult in simu Fig. 3 is a side eievational view of the reed shown inFig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view, on a slightly larger scale, of thereed shown in Fig. 2, the same having been taken substantially along theline 4-4 thereof;

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional'view, on a slightly larger scale, of thereed shown in Fig. 2, the same having been taken substantially along theline 5-! thereof; V

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view, on a slightly larger scale, of thereed shown in Fig. 2, the same having been taken substantially along theline 6-6 thereof Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view, on a slightly largerscale of the reed shown in Fig. 2. the same having been takensubstantially along the line 1-! thereof a Fig. 8 is a cross-sectionalview,-on a slightly larger scale, of the reed shown in Fig. 2, the samehaving been taken substantially along the line 8-8 thereof;

Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view, on a slightly larger scale, of thereed shown in Fig. 2, the same having been taken substantially along theline 9-9 thereof; and

Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional view, on a slightly larger scale, of thereed shown in Fig. 2, the same having been taken along the line l0-liithereof.

Referring now to the drawing, there is shown in Fig. 1 a conventionalmouthpiece M for musical wind instruments of the class above-described,having an apertured facing portion l6 shown in dotted lines, which hasmounted thereover a synthetic plastic vibrator reed l8 securedclampingly thereto by a common two screw ligature 20 of conventionaldesign. By tightening or loosening the screws 22 of the ligature 20, thevibrator reed i8 may be fixedly mounted over the apertured facing l6 orremoved therefrom as desired.

The vibrator reed I 8, which is shown on an enlarged scale removed fromthe mouthpiece H in Fig. 2, is of integral construction, and formedeither by molding and/or machining the same from a suitable piece ofplastic stock material hereinafter described. The reed l8, having a flatbase 26 and a curved convex upper portion 28, is provided with asuitable shank portion 30, which is adapted to fit standard facings andbe secured thereover by standard ligatures on the mouthpiece for windinstruments of the class described. The shank or fastening portion 30 ofthe reed I8 is that portion which extends from the non-playing end ofthe reed I8 to its fulcruming axis 32, which extends transverselyintermediate its ends. The fulcruming axis 32 is determined by theposition of the back edge of the ligature 20, when holding theinstrument in playing position. This shank portion 30 of the reed I! maybe conveniently referred to as the non-vibratory section.

The oppositeor tongue end 34 of the reed l8 extends from the fulcrumingaxis 32 to the free end 36 thereof, and may be conveniently referred toas the vibratory or playing" section thereof. The length of thevibratory section 34 of the reed i8 is broadly determined. by the tonerange of the instrument for which it is intended to be used, and willvary as the design of the instrument varies, as for example, fromsoprano, which has the shortest vibratory section, to base, which hasthe longest vibratory section.

We have discovered that plastic reeds made from the particular plasticmaterials hereinafter to be described in detail may be constructed in alarge number of distinctive shapes ranging from convex to concave, andthat all of them are capable, to some degree at least, of givingsatisfactory tonal qualities under certain limitations. Generally,however, such plastic reeds have distinct and limited playing qualitiesand tonal ranges. Some are excellent only in high octaves, and othersare excellent only in the low octaves. Some are excellent for pianissimo(very soft) playing, and others are excellent for i'ortissimo (veryloud) playing. Some are excellent for legato (smooth and flowing)playing, and others areexcellent for staccato (short and disjointed)playing. These qualities vary so greatly with the different shapes wehave made that it is impossible for us to show and describe the playingcharacteristics of each of them herein. We have discovered further thata plastic reed of the particular construction shown illustratively inthe drawing, gives good tonal qualities when used with various types ofinstruments. This construction furthermore gives good tonal ranges inthese various instruments from the high octaves to the low octaves,which has heretofore been unattainable with an ordinary cane reed. Wehave also discovered that this particular construction for our syntheticplastic reed provides superior tonal qualities and timbre, and isequally well suited'for all kinds and types of playing. The constructionillustratively shown appears to be as general in its tonal qualities andplaying characteristics as the other shapes have been found to bespecific within their respective limited fields.

Referring now to Figs. 2 to 10 of the drawing, wherein the structuralfeatures of the reed I 8 are shown in exaggeration, it will be notedthat a portion of the playing or vibratory end 34 of the reed i8 ishollowed or dished out along its top side in a concave formation, asindicated at 38. Whenever reference ismade to the top side" of thevibratory end 34, .itirmeant to indicate that side of the reed which isaway from the seat or facing ii of the mouth piece [4. This concaveportion begins at a point 40 spaced backwardly of the fulcruming point32 and becomes divergently wider and increases proportionately in depthas it approaches the free end 36. The angle of di-.

vergence being so great that the concave portion 38 is substantiallyadjacent the sides of the reed l8 at a distance spaced from the extremefree end 36, as indicated at 42. From the point 42 of ad- Jacency to theextreme free end 36 of the reed l8, the concaved surface extendsconterminously with the outer sides of the reed l 8, as indicated at 44.It will be noted that the concave portion 38, while increasingdivergently in width along a portion of the vibratory end of the reedl8, nevertheless is always of less width than said reed i 8 at itswidest part, thereby providing reinforcing shoulders 44 which extend tothe free playing end 36 along opposite sides thereof. These shoulders 44provide increased sealing qualities over the facing aperture i6,permitting a thinner free end while providing increased strength to thevibratory section, giving the reed l8 greater flexibility where needed.

In our development of the present invention, we have discovered thatmost synthetic resinous materials were not suited for the making ofreeds for musical wind instruments. We did find, however, in our searchthat synthetic resins of the propenoic or acrylate family are capable ofproducing highly satisfactory reeds for such instruments. These resinsmay be further defined as being polymers of propenoic acid derivativesor acrylic acid derivatives, and of such resins it is obvious that wecan use only those which are solid and form-retaining in their polymericstate. Of these generic resins we have found that methyl methaorylate,n-amylacrylate and secondary butyl acrylate have all the chemical andphysical characteristics desirable for producing a satisfactory reed formusical instruments of the class herelnabove described.

By using these particular resins, we have obviated many disadvantages ofthe cane reed, retained all of its advantageous features, and haveproduced a synthetic reed that has new properties not heretofore foundin the conventional cane reed. For example, reeds made in accordancewith this invention are permanent. The materials from which they aremade are not affected by moisture, saliva, body acids and alkalies,temperature changes, atmospheric conditions, etc. These materials arenon-porous, are easily kept clean, and have no interstices capable ofharboring bacteria, micro-organisms, etc. Such materials have a pleasant"feel to the tongue and lips of the performer, have low heatconductivity and low coefficient of expansion. Consequently, they do nottend to rob the tongue and lips of the performer of the body heat, andthe performer does not have to change his embouchure or readapt hisplaying technique to off-set any temperature changes within the range ofnormal atmospheric and body temperatures. The particular resins inquestion are non-toxic, contain no volatile ingredients which over aperiod of time might cause shrinkage or change in the degree ofhardness, flexibility, etc. Such resins are also age-resisting. It isapparent that we have provided a reed that is inert to atmosphericconditions, changes, etc. These resins have been found to have theproper degrees of toughness, hardness, specific gravity, flexibility andelasticity to permit aperformer to produce musical tones in suchinstruments with the greatest of ease and over the widest possible rangeof tones. In addition to all of the above qualities, these resins haveextremely good molding, machining and grinding qualities, which permitexact duplication of the reeds without difficulty whenever desired.

By actual tests we have found that new tonal qualities are obtained withour reeds that were not obtainable with the cane type or other types ofreeds mentioned above. Our reeds produce full, fine tones, of accurateintonation, with exceptional tone brilliance, of fine timbre andcarrying power, having both vigor and vitality. For example, we havefound that with our improved reed an instrument, such as a clarinet, canbe played with a number of brass instruments, and because of its unusualtone qualities, the solo clarinet will have such timbre that it will"cut through the brasses and be distinctly and clearly heard. Its tones,however, also blend with the brasses and other instruments in a way notheretofore obtainable with the conventional cane reed.

We have also found, by actually playing woodwind instruments of theclass described equipped with a reed made in accordance with ourinvention, that the same, tonal qualities are available over the entiretonal ranges of the instruments. This is new and unusual for reedinstruments, as the conventional cane reed is best either at the loweror upper part of the instrument range, and

at other parts of its range the tonal quality falls down.

While the exact scientific understanding of reeds and musicalinstruments is not complete, we behave that the finer characteristics ofour reed are due to a number of causes. In the woodwinds and thesaxophone the lips act by controlling the vibration of a single ordouble blade reed. There is necessarily a slight opening between thesingle reed and its mouthpiece. This opening is almost closed duringvibration. The instrument acts as a tube stopped up at one end. With ourtype of reed, because of its material and structural form, this closingof! of the vibratin column of air is positive. There is no leakage topermit the formation of additional edge tones, so that the fine tone ofthe instrument is not impaired by unharmonic overtones due to the edgetones of the escaping air. In our reed the edges are structurally strongenough, when closed, to resist setting up partial vibratory segments ofthemselves, and tend to remain closed. The only vibration, therefore, isthat of the main reed. With our reed, we obtain a "rolling" closure ofthe air column, and therefore the tones are not slappy because the reeddoes not close the air inlet with a slap or sudden or abrupt closure.The rolling closure of our reed gives the very fine tonal characterdescribed in the instrument. This type of closure permits a performer toplay with equal tone quality and case either legato or staccato type ofmusic.

One of the biggest advantages of the synthetic plastics of which we makeour reeds is that they can be duplicated at all times, and this coupledwith the fact that the material can be readily machined to reproduce itsstructural features, permits exact duplication of any reed onceproduced. Thus, a performer can always secure a duplicate of the reed ofhis liking, and is no longer required to change his embouchure orreadapt his technique when using a new reed.

The materials from which the reeds are made, being amorphous incharacter, are the same throughout the product. Such materials have nograiny structure, fibers or cementltious materials therein, which varygreatly throughout and produce notable differences in the finished reed.Furthermore, reeds made in accordance with our invention are of uniformstrength throughout,

and have no vulnerable points which might cause failure without warningin the midst of a performance. Consequently, the performer may forgetabout the possible failure of his reed and keep his mind entirely uponhis music without fear of failure. Such fear plays a very important partin the playing of a performer, and is constantly directing his attentionaway from his music although it is not apparent to the listeners.

Another reason wh the tones of Our present reed are superior to thetones of the cane reed is probably due to the fact that our materialsare capable of taking a highly polished surface, which has no free bitsor particles of material adhering thereto, producing a "feathery edgethat can be set into vibration along with the main part of the reed. Thecane reed is too porous, grainy and has too many fibers in its structureto give a smooth, free surface, regardless of how finely it has beenpolished or finished. Each of these little fibers or threads of the canereed has a natural period of vibration, and, when the main reed is setinto vibration, these small pieces tend to vibrate at their ownfrequencies, and thus set up large numbers of different tones or partialtones that have a tendency to cloud the true tone of the instrument.With our resins, the finished reed has no such adhering particles, andits tone is not clouded by such partial tones.

One of the most remarkable characteristics of the present reeds is thatit is particularly susceptible to delicate nuances of tonal strength,ranging from pianissimo to fortissimo. Most remarkable to all is that nomatter in what register of the instrument, in what degree of loudness orsoftness, or what style of music the performer is playing, the samebeautiful, round, mellow and solid tones are reproduced. Even subtones,"a term and style known particular to jazz players, are readily obtainedand do not require the use of the tongue on the reed, as in the case ofthe conventional cane reed.

Although we have only described in detail one form which our inventionmay assume, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that theinvent is not so limited, but that various modifications may be madetherein without departing from the spirit thereof or from the scope ofthe appended claims.

What we claim is:

1. A reed of the class described which has its vibratory free endconcaved along one face from a point spaced backwardly of its fulcrumingaxis, said concaved portion increasing in width substantially to thefree end of the reed.

2. A reed of the class described which has the top side of its vibratoryfree end portion formed of concave shape from a point spaced backwardlyof its iulcruming axis, said concaved portion increasing in widthsubstantially to the free end of the reed.

3. A reed of the class described which has its vibratory free endconcaved along one face from a point spaced backwardly of its fulcrumingaxis, said concave portion increasing in width substantially to the freeend of the reed, but being always of less width than said reed at itswidest portion so as to form reinforcing shoulders along opposite sidesthereof substantially to its free end.

4. A reed of the class described which has the top side of its vibratoryfree end portion formed of concave shape from a point spaced backwardlyof its fulcruming axis, said concaved portion increasing in widthsubstantially to the free end of the reed, but being always of lesswidth than said reed at its widest portion so as to form reinforcingshoulders along opposite sides thereof substantially to its free end.

5. A reed of the class described which has the top side of its vibratoryend portion formed of concave shape from a point spaced backwardly ofits fulcruming axis, said concaved portion increasing in width and depthas it approaches the free end of the reed.

6. A plastic reed of the character described composed of an acrylateresin that is solid in its polymeric form, said reed having itsvibratory end portion concaved along one face from a point spacedbackwardly of its fulcruming axis, said concaved portion increasing inwidth substantially to the free end of the reed.

7. A plastic reed of the character described composed of an acrylateresin that is solid in its polymeric form, said reed having the top sideof its vibratory end portion concaved from a point spaced backwardly ofits fulcruming axis, said concaved portion increasing in widthsubstantially to the free end of the reed.

8. A plastic reed of the character described composed of an acrylateresin that is solid in its polymeric form, said reed having itsvibratory end portion concaved along one face from a point spacedbackwardly of its fulcruming axis, said concaved portion increasing inwidth substantially to the free end of the reed, but being always ofless width than said reed at its widest portion so as to formreinforcing shoulders along opposite sides thereof substantially to itsfree end.

9. A plastic reed of the character described composed of an acrylateresin that is solid in its polymeric form, said reed having the top sideof its vibratory end portion concaved from a point spaced backwardly ofits fulcruming axis, said concaved portion increasing in widthsubstantially to the free end of the reed, but being always of lesswidth than said reed at its widest portion so as to form reinforcingshoulders along opposite sides thereof substantially to its free end.

10. A plastic reed of the character described composed of an acrylateresin that is solid in its polymeric form, said reed having the top sideof its vibratory end portion formed of concave shape from a'point spacedbackwardly of its fulcruming axis, said concaved portion increasing inwidth and depth substantially to the free end of the RAYMOND CAIRE.AARON J. FRIEDMAN.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION. Patent No. 2,250,955. February u,'19h1.

RAYMOND CAIRE, ET AL.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specificationof the above numbered patent requiring correction as IolIowsz Page 5,second column, line 19, claim 10, after "the" second occurrence, insertthe word and period -reed.; and that the said Letters Patent should beread th this correction therein. that the same may conform to the recordof the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 22nd day of July, A. D. l9LLl.

Henry Van Arsdale, (Seal) Acting Commi ssioner a t CERTIFICATE OFCORRECTION.

Patent No. 2,250,955. February 1;,19141.

RAYMOND CAIRE, ET AL.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specificationof the above numbered patent requiring correction as lolIowse Page 5,second column, line 1 .9, claim 10, after "the" second occurrence,insert the word and period --reed.-; and that the said Letters Patentshouldbe read with this correction therein that the same may conform tothe record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 22nd day of July, A. D. 19m.

Henry Van Arsdale, (Seai) Acting Commissione Patents

